There was an old woman—

"There Was an Old Woman—" by Robert Silverberg is a science fiction story from the 1950s that looks at what happens when someone tries to control every part of another person's life. It's about who we are, what makes each of us special, and how much our parents should decide our futures. The story follows Donna Mitchell, who uses science to have thirty-one sons who are all exactly the same. She believes she can choose what they become by controlling their lives. But as the sons grow up, they realize they don't want the lives she planned for them. The story builds to a surprising ending where the sons fight for their freedom and make shocking choices, leading to their mother's death, questioning if parents can truly control who their children become.